… so, the responsibility and actions of the perpetrators doesn’t mean anything?

next time something bad happens to you… do you want all your friend and family to sit there and say “oh, i’m sorry Russell we’d LOVE to help you out, but you’ll just have to sort yourself out as it’s your own actions that have got you into this mess”.

idiot.

Oh, but it was.

a) who left the stuff in the car overnight?
b) who didnt insure his stuff?

People need to stop proselytizing the culture of victimhood and start taking responsibility for their own actions.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/30/British-blogger-learns-underside-of-US/UPI-77841246420345/

But you can’t leave America before you get out West… the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Montana, the Grand Canyon, Arches… then the Northwest, the Pacific coast and all that good stuff.

Just scrounge up a decent low cost combination still camera with video… like a Panasonic FZ7 and you can carry on I’d think.

Have a great adventure… someday it will all be golden memories…

:0)

Go West, young man… go west

“The British have an umbilical cord which has never been cut and through which tea flows constantly. It is curious to watch them in times of sudden horror, tragedy or disaster. The pulse stops apparantly, and nothing can be done, and not one move made, until a ‘nice cup of tea’ is quickly made. There is no question that it brings solace and does steady the mind. What a pity all countries are not so tea-conscious. World-peace conferences would run smoothly if a ‘nice cup of tea’ or indeed , a samovar, were available at the proper time”.

Sorry to sound cynical, but your car insurance covered the theft, did it not?

I opened your blog this morning n was blown off!!! WTF happened!!. When i finally got over the initial shock, I read further and now all the angry feelings have transformed into enthusiasm and support and joy.Though I’m sad at yur loss but I’m really glad u guys are safe n sound n r continuing on yur journey. Look at yur support network!! So many ppl u dnt even know (including myself) are following yur journey n r willing 2 help, if not in cash then in words to urge u 2 go on…u must hav realized wat yur journey means to us all.

All of us fight demons, cross bridges, conquer the fearsome unknown, fall down and get up again ON DAILY BASIS. It does make us a lil wiser, more brave in the end.

I live in a country where ppl r shot down on streets, in broad daylight…only coz they resisted letting go of their cheap cell phones! Shit is everywhere Geoff!! but that doesn’t mean that that’a all there is……carry on yur journey, in the end when u tabulate yur gains and disappointments…im sure u’ll b happy with the results.

Lots of love n warm wishes

It’s been quite a while since I posted on here. I used to follow the original 50p quest (Just searched and I was contributor 173), and for a good few years, I have read your evolving blog, which has brought so many emotions.
As nearly everyone else has put, I felt devastated, watching someone I feel I know, nearly broken by the actions of individuals who probably do not grasp what repercussions they cause.

You may not remember, but a couple of years ago, whilst I was at uni, you sent me a Caramel Tunnock, which I joyfully ate one bleary morning after lectures. It’s little acts of random kindness like that, which make me know you have touched so many lives with your quirky online presence.

Here is $20 repaying the favour, so one morning soon, you can feel the joy as you wake up in another stop on your journey.

Enjoy whatever comes next, and hopefully one day, we will get a photo of me handing my 50p over in person!

Let’s get one thing straight. This was not self inflicted. You are not the one who smashed your car window and stole all your stuff. It was the local pond life who did it, not you. Get back on the saddle.. The last 24 hours will hopefully have replaced some of your faith in human nature.

CU

I am so so so glad you are going to continue on your trip and haven’t let this stop you! MANY MANY MANY people would have given up, quite understandably, but you are prevailing and (looks like) going to have enough money to get everything back in order again. Conveniently you will be back in Charleston for the 4th of July which is a great way to relaunch your trip.

You will rebegin in Charleston (a very American city). It is a city which has been ravaged many times throughout the past few centuries yet come through stronger. The character it has gained from these trials is marked upon the city, practically hanging in the air, and only makes it more intriguing and beautiful. You are beginning your journey again on Independence Day of all days. This date, the fourth of July, is when the signers of the Declaration were bold enough to say that they were capable of making their own way in the world. They did not want to be held back any longer by people who only wanted money at the expense of their wishes. These wishes were: to live however they wanted to live, travel wherever they wanted to travel, and drink tea without interference to help them solve their problems. They wanted to be able to explore the continent beyond the East when they were hindered by the Proclamation of 1763. Their wish was to discover the beauty and prosperity the rest of the continent held and also to be sure become ” a bit wiser, and perhaps smarter and that in some way could perhaps impart the knowledge and wisdom of [their] travels onto others in the future.” The signers did not let others stop them, just as you have not let thieves take away your means to pursue your dream or your freedom to travel. They may have taken your equipment but fortunately they didn’t mess with your tea.

You were born British, like the founders of America, and just as Charleston still bear its name from King Charles II, you are leaving a lasting impact upon this place. You are helping shape America through your documentation. All the people and places you come in contact with will become better by encountering you and this will be further amplified by how you are sharing this on the web. You are proving that you are not only British but American by your fortitude and sense of “rugged individualism”. Although you may not be bushwhacking your way west, you have camped some. Like the creators of the Wilderness Road and the like, you are opening up America in new ways to those around you. You are presenting territory to many people that wouldn’t have been quite as available before you. Geoff- The modern day Trailblazer.

Thomas Paine, a good British man turned American said “I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” By continuing your trip and not letting those Jeep looters bring you down, you are this man. Being American isn’t not being British, the two really can coincide and although it is possible to be just British it is less easy to be just American. Britain came before America just as you were from Britain before you came here. No matter where you are at the end of this trip you will always be an American and America will always be better because of you.

I know that coming to America has not been easy for you in many aspects but I, and I am sure I speak for all your American friends as well, am glad to count you as one of us. All labels aside you are a fantastic person and as I have always said, are meant to do great things. This trip is just one of them and only the beginning. Being you is the greatest one of all. You are quite an inspiration. You follow your passions and interests and enrich those around you with them.

So, turns out things work out in the end after all, right?